Rain-alarm.



A. T, SODERQUIST.

RAIN ALARM.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 7. 1911.

. 1,295,227. Patented Feb. 25, 1919.,

INVENTOE, WITNESSES 17.7? SODERQUIsT .7941. 1 BY H/s flTmfi/vEYs. 5.6 40% 60% W unrrnn s'rA'rns PATENT ornion.

ARNOLD T. SODERQUIST, or DALBO, MINNESOTA.

RAIN-ALARM.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ARNOLD T. SonER- QUIST, a citizen of the United States, residing at Dalbo, in the county of Isanti and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rain-Alarms; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to automatic alarms or signals and has for its primary object to construct such a device to sound an alarm at the beginning of a rain storm. The device is especially adapted for use in private homes, for the purpose of warning the occupants of the beginning of a rain storm, and particularly at night when the occupants are asleep, so that they may close the lwindows and doors to prevent damage by rain.

To the above end, generally stated, the invention consists of the novel devices and combinations of devices hereinafter described and defined in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the invention, like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the rain alarm supported on the window sill of a window frame having mounted therein a vertically movable sash that'is partly open, said window frame and sash being shown in central vertical section;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the rain-actuated mechanism detached from the alarm mecha-- nism, on an enlarged scale;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the parts shown in Fig. 2, certain of said parts being broken away to expose underlying parts shown in section;

Fig. 4 is a view, partly in side elevation and partly in central vertical section of the alarm mechanism detached from the rain actuated mechanism; and

, Fig. 5 is a view in transverse vertical section taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2.

The numeral 6 indicates a window frame having mounted therein a vertically sliding window sash 7 partly open. The alarm mechanism, as shown, is in the form of an electric hell 8, of standard construction, secured by screws or otherwise to the outer face ofa casing 9, having in one side a door 10', and within said casing is a dry cell bat Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb.,25, 1919.

Application filed July 7, 1917. Serial No. 179,161.

tery 11. A wire 12 electrically connects one' of the battery 11 to one of the binding posts of the hell 8, and a third wire 16 electrically connects the other binding post of said bell to a binding post 17 on the base member 14.

Secured t0 the base member 14, is a metal post 18, having on its upper end a fixed horizontally projecting contact 19. A short wire 16, indicated by broken lines in Fig. 3, electrically connects the binding post 17 with the post 18, and hence, the fixedcontact 19. Also projecting upward from the base 14, is a metal post 20 electrically connected to the binding post 13 by a wire 21, indicated by broken lines in Fig. 3. A horizontal lever 22 is intermediately fulcrumed on the upper end of the post 20 and has secured to one of its ends a laterally projecting movable contact 23. I

The movable contact 23 is normally held out of engagement with the fixed contact 19 by a trigger 24, in the form of an upright fiat spring anchored to the base 14 and having its upper end bent laterally and inserted into an aperture 25 in the end of the lever 22 to which the movable contact 23 is secured. A rain-collecting plate 26 in the form of a disk is provided near its periphery with a pair of depending lugs 27, ,which straddle the outer end of the lever 22 and are secured thereto bya horizontal pivot pin 28 located close to the post 20 and with the collecting plate 26 projecting outward over the respective end portion of the lever 22.

A horizontal rock shaft 29, which extends substantially parallel to the lever 22, is journaled in a bearing 30 on the post 20. The outward end of the rock shaft 29 is bent laterally to provide an arm 31, which engages the collecting plate 26. Encircling the rock shaft 29, is a coiled spring 32 anchored at one of its ends to said shaft and at its other end to the bearing 30 and is under strain to rock the shaft 29, in a direction to cause the arm 31 to lift the collecting plate 26 above the lever 22, as shown in Fig. 2. The inner end of the rock shaft 29 is bent to form a crank 33 positioned to engage the trigger 24 and trip the same out of engagement with the lever 22, when the arm 31 is depressed by the collecting plate 26 by the falling of rain thereon;

The collecting plate 26 is only lightly held by the sprlng 32 and a few drops of Water thereon will overcome said spring and allow the collecting plate to swing downward onto the outer end of the lever 22. This downward movement of the collecting plate 26will depress the arm 31 and thereby rock the shaft 29 which, inturn, will operate the crank 33 to trip the trigger 24 and release the lever 22. With the lever 22 released, the=weight of the catch pan 26 will overbalance saidlever and lift the inner end thereofto .carry'the movable contact 23 into engagement with the fixed contact 19 and thereby complete the circuit between the bell- 8 and battery 11. With the circuit complete, theiibell 8 will continue to ring untilv the apparatus-1 is again reset, which will break the circuit.

Asj-shown in the-drawings, the base 14 isplaced on the window sill, outward oi? the window sash 7, and the casing 10 is placed .onthe window sill just inside of said window sash, so that the belland battery will not) get'wet. Theinclination ofthe window sill will support the base '14, so that the rain-collecting plate 26'is substantially horizontal. It is, of course, understood that the apparatus may-be placed in any otherconvenient place-where the rain will fall onto the collecting plate;

What I claim is 1. A circuit closer comprisinga base mem her, a fixed :contact on the base member, a lever :intermediately 'fulcrumed on the base member andl having on its inner end a movable Icontact arranged to engage the fixed contact, a trigger set to normally hold the leverwith it's contact out of engagement with thefixed-contact, a rain-collecting plate pivoted onxtlie outer end of the lever, and a connection between the trigger and collecting plate normally holding said collecting plate in a raised position, and said collecting plate, when depressedby rain falling thereon, arranged to trip said trigger through said connection and release the lever.

2. A circuit closer comprising tfiXed contact and a movable contact, a trigger set to normally hold themovable contact out of engagement with the fixed contact, a movable rain-collecting plate under strain to carry the movable contact into" engagement withathe' fixed contact, and yielding connections under strain =toholcl the collecting plate against action with respect to the movable contactran'darranged when said collecting plate is moved by rain falling thereon to trip said trigger.

3. A circuit closer comprising a base member, a fixed cont-act. on-the base: member, a lever intermediately fulcrumed'on'therbase member and'having on its inner enola movableucontact arranged to engage: the 'fixed' contact, a trigger set tonormally hold the lever with its contact out of engagement with the fixed contact, a rain+collectingplate= pivoted on the outer end: of the lever, azrock Copiesof this-patent may be obtained for" five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0.? 

